Willoughby councillors Anna Greco, Nic Wright censured over code of conduct breach findings

Tensions have boiled over behind closed doors of a Sydney council over a string of incidents in which one councillor was labelled ‘stupid’ and accused of wasting council time with ‘inane’ and questions.

Simmering tensions between two north shore councillors have come to a head over a string of incidents in which one councillor was labelled “stupid” and accused of wasting council time with “inane” and “embarrassing” questions.

A feud involving Willoughby councillors Anna Greco and Nic Wright has resulted in both elected officials being formally ‘censured’ as part of code of conduct investigations that cost ratepayers thousands of dollars in resources to investigate.

It comes as new figures have revealed NSW councillors recorded a record number of code of conduct complaints last financial year with the number of complaints topping 1242 – an average of more than three per day.

The NSW Government is now in the process of overhauling the code of conduct system, labelling the current process as “fundamentally broken” and “too open to weaponisination”.

Nic Wright – who has served as a Willoughby councillor for more than a decade – was ‘censured’ last week over a series of emails the council found was likely to bring Anna Greco into “disrepute”.

Willoughby councillor Nic Wright.

A code of conduct investigation by the council found Mr Wright sent multiple emails to Ms Greco as well as other councillors and council executives in May last year that included comments they found amounted to “verbal abuse”.

The report came six months after Ms Greco was herself censured following findings of code of conduct breaches – including for comments directed at Mr Wright which had the potential to bring him into disrepute.

The council investigation into comments made by Mr Wright found emails made reference to Ms Greco as “being an embarrassment to the council” and “unprofessional” because of her “failure to understand” a council strategy. He also referred to her emails as “stupid”.

Willoughby councillor Anna Greco.

Mr Wright further accused Ms Greco of failing to listen during multiple council briefings and wasting council staff time with “inane questions”.

Mr Wright was also reprimanded for telling Ms Greco, as she was speaking during a council meeting, to “sit down” which amounted to an “act of disorder”.

The code of conduct investigation into Ms Greco, finalised in August last year, meanwhile centred on emails in which she implied Mr Wright did not declare a conflict of interest during a council meeting.

The emails were sent to all councillors as well as three senior staff which the investigation found was “improper and had the potential to bring Mr Wright into disrepute”.

Ms Greco was also censured for being critical of an unnamed council employee and requested that the employee be removed from their duties on a council construction project.

NSW Local Government minister Ron Hoenig has vowed to overhaul the current code of conduct system, describing it as “fundamentally broken with tit-for-tat complaints diverting critical council resources and ratepayer money from the things that matter most to communities”.

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has vowed to overhaul the code of conduct process.

A chief criticism of the current process is that conduct breaches are determined by a vote of councillors as opposed to an independent body.

Ms Greco – speaking to this publication – conceded that she and Ms Wright have “differences of opinions” but rejected suggestions she will be unable to work with Mr Wright in a professional manner into the future.

“I think we have two very different personalities and obviously we clash in terms of our political perspectives but I do think we can work together,” she said.

“I recognise (the code of conduct matters) are a bad look for the council but I also think the process needs reviewing because at the moment there’s no justice in it.”

Mr Wright is also hopeful that he and Ms Greco can overcome their differences.

“My hope is that by focusing on open communication and mutual respect, we can maintain a professional atmosphere and move beyond any differences,” he said in a statement.

Documents by Willoughby Council show it spent $63,658 dealing with code of conduct complaints during the last financial year.

A Willoughby Council spokeswoman said the council has resolve not to take any further action regarding the code of conduct matters relating to Ms Greco or Mr Wright.